Best. Concert. Ever.

Last night I went (solo!) to see a band I know from my Portland days, Pink Martini. I calculated that I'd seen them at least four times - probably a couple of times at the zoo concerts, once at a Starbucks in the Pearl district when I worked nearby... I assume that was part of a cd release, or something. All I really remember is that I was running late, but I realized that the big ol' car in front of me was being driven by Thomas Lauderdale, the group's leader, so I wasn't going to miss anything. Incidentally, seeing a band that has up to 13 members and a ton of instruments all crammed into a Starbucks? ...challenging, to say the least.

Anyway, that would have been spring 2001, and I know I saw them one more time at a different summer concert series in the summer of 2002 - but that's probably the last time I saw them. They have a big following in Portland, and their shows sell out, and they aren't cheap in the first place (and I tend to be!).

I realized they were coming to my area, and were going to be performing a couple of miles from my place at a very classic-seeming venue, the three-thousand seat 1931 Art Deco Paramount Theatre. (Let me note that I use the "-re" spelling of theatre reluctantly. I hate that spelling convention.) At first I was reluctant to go alone, but no one I talked to at first had ever heard of Pink Martini, and I didn't feel like trying to sell anyone on the idea of springing 60 bucks to see an unknown-to-them band. At the (repeated) encouragement of a coworker, I bought one ticket for the show.

And I am SO glad I went. I've been telling people the show was SO AMAZING OMG. Their sound was rich and full, the energy was excellent, and the music gorgeous. I've been working on a description for them and have settled on Retro World Music. They do their own stuff, but also excavate songs from, say, a 1930s Italian movie about a nun who used to be a lounge singer. They offer songs in English, Arabic, Japanese, French, Italian, and Spanish - and I may well be missing something.

Anyway, at the risk of getting all Fan Girl, I will say: I will definitely make every attempt to attend future shows, and I hereby offer a 100% guarantee that anyone who catches a Pink Martini show will leave the venue elated.